


Worth the Wait

by Cassidius_Wilde



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 04:00:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28754034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cassidius_Wilde/pseuds/Cassidius_Wilde
Summary: Jughead Jones wanted to experience love, and what happens when he gets one as soon as he wishes for it?
Relationships: Betty Cooper & Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 3
Kudos: 20





	Worth the Wait

People kept saying the most difficult obstacles laid in one's teenage years, though, having just finished highschool, Jughead couldn't disagree more.

The hell he went through to get from Riverdale to New York University was already harder than the S.A.Ts. 

At the beginning of the school year he was piled with more assignments than he had ever done in tenth grade, not to mention he had to work extra to pay up his already rotten apartment. But that part was mostly his choice.

Jughead's grandfather was a well known person in NYU and as soon as he heard that his grandson was planning on entering the gates of limbo, he reserved one of the finest dorms for him, albeit the company of a roommate. Jughead didn't want that. It was a well known fact that disaster appeared whenever he tried talking to people. So he declined, stating that he could do fine in an apartment a few blocks away since the rest of the rooms were either reserved or taken. 

So here he was, stalking the snow covered streets of New York City instead of sipping coffee in a warm, grey walled room in his favoured school.

Damn it, he cussed, rubbing his hands together all the while blowing his hot breath on them in order not to freeze. He completely forgot about the weather report and had worn thin gloves instead of thick ones.

Passing by different shops as quickly as he could so that he would get to the nearest café, Jughead heard a commotion a few feet away. Not the type where you'd think someone started pissing off another, rather, a fun scream.

A girl threw a snowball at a guy in the middle of the carless road with a squeal as he threw one back at her, both seemed to be in their own winter wonderland.

Jughead smiled but frowned just as quick. He wished he could experience the joys of loving someone even just once. Poor boy has been single since he was born. The closest he had to a 'relationship' was the girl who demanded he take her to prom because she didn't have a date and that Jughead was the last 'hot guy' on campus without a one. He agreed, fearing for his life, and she ended up leaving him alone while she threw herself at the star jock. 

Classic, he rolled his eyes at the memory. Eventually, he concluded that the problem was him. It's not that nobody was ever interested. In fact, plenty of girls asked him out but he respectfully turned them down, having not felt a slight attraction towards any of the people he came across. He didn't want to lead them on. It felt wrong, no matter how desperate he was.

Suddenly he felt something hit his back with a thud. It was light and it broke during the contact. Then he heard a giggle behind him. He hadn't noticed that the snowball fight escalated to about fifty people who were presently duking it out like there was a golden prize at the end.

When he turned around to face the culprit, they gasped.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry!" It was a girl. She sounded genuinely apologetic.

Jughead couldn't see her face behind all the layers of clothing - an oversized coat, mittens, a scarf, ear muffs. It was a lot for a petite person to wear.

"I thought you were someone else!" She continued, frantically waving her hands in sync with her explanation.

Jughead was about to say that it was okay but then he thought about the last time he let loose. He deserved to have fun this one time, right? Besides, a snowball fight didn't require any communication.

He smirked, bending down to roll one in his cold hands and threw it at her with a chuckle. 

He couldn't see it, but she was definitely smiling. And so, two strangers proceeded to throw snow at each other for a good five minutes, frozen hands completely forgotten, before the girl lost her step and slipped, landing painfully on her bum.

She laughed loudly at her own clumsiness and Jughead walked over, offering her his hand. 

"Are you okay?" Jughead was surprised at his sudden question. He never really asked anyone anything aside from his teachers about due dates. If this were a scene in the halls, he would've walked right pass her without a single glance.

The girl's laughter ceased as she took his hand with a firm grip. "I'm fine," she said. "Thank you."

"It's no. . ." Jughead's sentence was cut too short when he saw her. Her ear muffs had fallen on the ground and her scarf came slightly off, showing most of her face. "Problem."

She had a cute botton nose that was red along with her puffy cheeks and the greenest eyes he had ever seen. They were shining like meteors and Jughead couldn't decide if they were green like emeralds or the leaves of trees in the forest after a perfect drizzle of rain. 

Even the wavy sunflower hair that had fallen on her shoulders after she took off her beanie was mesmerising to end.

Now, Jughead Jones never believed in love at first sight, but he didn't know what else to call the gravity that came upon him in that moment. It was pulling strings in his chest.

"You alright?" he heard her say. 

Feeling his heart flutter at the clearness of her voice, he began stuttering.

"I - You. . . Uuh," he said, following an awkward chuckle as he lost all words he had learned. He cussed at himself. This was the moment he was waiting for and he was blowing it up in mere seconds.

The blonde giggled and Jughead felt his cheeks grow warm. Thank god the weather was covering up the blush. 

"Right," she said. "I'm Elizabeth, but you can call me Betty."

It was her turn to offer her hand and Jughead slightly hesitated. 

"Uhm, For - Jughead!" he corrected himself at the last second. "I - I'm Jughead." 

Jughead shook her hand while his free one went up to scratch the back of his head. Her tiny hand was so warm in his, and there was this kind of comfort he had never felt before. He wanted more of it.

On the other hand, Betty felt something in the pits of her stomach when he gave her a nervous smile. The sensation seemed as if a thousand butterflies were leeching off of her insides. 

"Your hands are so cold," she blurted out in concern and he immediately snatched his hand away so fast like she had just burned him.

"Sorry."

Betty grinned. "It's okay. Maybe a good coffee can fix that?" 

Her gaze trailed to the café behind him - the one where he was supposed to go before she threw the first blow. 

Jughead's emotions swirled away almost instantly. Mostly worried that catastrophe was going to strike any second. The notion hadn't appeared in his mind until she basically asked him out.

Before he had a chance to open his mouth, she dragged him inside. Jughead tried fighting the pleasurable warmth that engulfed his senses as soon as he heard the bell until it became way too impossible to resist with the additional scent of brewed coffee and the lack of an overbearing crowd.

The two found a seat at the far end corner, away from the window and near the menu, and while Betty got her order of cheesecake and caramel latte, Jughead was already seated with two muffins and a dark espresso on his plate.

"So, Jughead," Betty piped up with her tray in hand as she slid on the chair across from him. "How old are you?"

"Um, nineteen," he replied, seemingly sipping on his coffee.

"Huh, you look younger."

Jughead chuckled lightly. "You don't look over a day over sixteen yourself." I don't know where that come from, but thank you, baby Jesus, he thought as his eyebrows bounced in agreement.

Betty blushed and giggled. "Thank you. I'm actually eighteen. Turning nineteen in three months."

"Ah, good for you," Jughead said, meeting her eyes and stayed there. "Being eighteen is the worst."

Betty raised her brow in question. "How so?"

"I. . . Sorry," the raven's eyes dropped, obviously reminiscing in a bad memory. "I shouldn't have brought that up. It's my own experience. Anyway, do you go to school?"

Out of the blue, Betty laughed. She felt bad for not saying anything when she saw his expression and she knew he didn't want to talk about it so she tried pretending like their previous topic didn't exist. "God, our questions are so creepy. And yeah, I do. I actually got in NYU just last month when a spot opened up after, what I heard, is an expulsion for having sex in the teachers' lounge? Something like that."

Jughead almost choked on his drink, not at the news, but at the revelation that the blonde goddess went to the same university as him. 

"Yeah," he sighed. "I mean, they wouldn't have been caught if they were smart enough to shut down the CCTV. Video went viral not even an hour later. Everyone in school got the notification."

Betty froze. "You. . .you go to NYU?" She asked and he nodded, biting his muffin in half. "Wow. Small world. And you major in. . .?"

"English."

"Seriously?"

They both snickered. "Don't tell me," Jughead held his hand up. "You're an english major too?"

"Hmm. Actually, no," Betty stated, puffing up her chest with pride. "Biology. I want to be part of the FBI. My brother was the one who recommended me since he said I was good."

"Oh! Well, ma'am," Jughead said, running his hand through his fluffed up hair. "I promise you, my browser history is clean as a baby's behind." He joked.

"But how come I've never ran into you before? Surely I have even once." 

Jughead hummed. He didn't really feel like telling her the reason but he it was as if he could tell her everything and she won't ever judge him for it. 

"I've heard the horrors of college dorms, so I declined mine. I only go there during school hours or when I want to use the library. So, yeah." He explained.

"Oh. Well, I'm not going to pry further but dorms actually aren't that bad," Betty said as she stretched her arms on the table sideways with a groan. "Trust me, I thought the same thing. I don't have a roommate but the neighbours are nice. And if you have a bad one, just avoid 'em."

"Eh, my way's easier."

She shrugged. "Whatever you say."

After that, Jughead's eyes slowly trailed up and caught sight of the time. 11 PM. He brushed aside the concern that slipped into his gut for a slight second until he realized he was supposed to be doing his autobiography that was due in the morning. It was the class's first big assignment and if he passed it late or not at all, what kind of first impression would that be?

"Shoot!" He said, standing up abruptly from his seat to which startled the poor girl.

"Is everything okay?"

"I'm sorry," Jughead repeated the phrase like a mantra as he promptly tried to fit his arm in the sleeve of his coat. "I forgot, I had something important to do today and I gotta go. It was lovely chatting with you."

"But, Jughead - "

"Maybe we'd run into each other at school tomorrow?" Jughead exclaimed, putting his money on the table before grabbing his bag.

"Jughe - "

"Alright, bye!"

"Wait!"

Eventually, Betty was left alone in the building with her hand angled out to reach the space he just stood in.

"Your coat's inside out. . ." She whispered to no one in particular.

. . .

A few weeks had passed and Jughead was able to give his assignment in time but still hasn't gotten another look at Betty. After his submission, she was all he could ever think of. One day, he strutted off into the Science building, asking teachers if they had a student by the name of Betty, and when they shook their heads, he tried sneaking into the dorms but all he saw were a bunch of boisterous jocks and other sweaty, half naked people in the halls. It was his fault for not asking about her number, nor her last name - social media had a lot of Bettys - or just simply had given her his contact information instead.

God, Jones, he groaned inwardly that night as he laid on his creaky bed. You're already a weirdo and you're making it worse with this obsession.

Maybe she has night classes?

The only way he could ever find out was if he moved in the school. At that, Betty's words filled his mind. 

"Dorms actually aren't that bad. You just gotta avoid your bad roommate."

Fuck it, Jughead went straight to his contacts and his thumb hovered over the icon.

Taking a deep breath, he pressed on it for long and waited. He hadn't heard from the guy for nearly four months.

"Hello?" A deep, grim voice spoke on the other end.

"Hey, grandpa." Jughead greeted with a cringe. Luckily, the old man was miles away.

"Forsythe."

"Yeah," the name added to his grimace but he let it go. Just like he always did. "I wanted to know if I could still move into NYU."

"Finally at the breaking point, I see." Hearing his grandfather's pride was like stabbing a knife on his own.

"I just. . ." The raven gulped. "The apartment's not really working out for me. I've had four writer's block in under a month."

The first Forsythe sighed. "Luckily, you called a week early. Your dorm is still in it's original place but I'm afraid they went through with giving you a new roommate."

Jughead didn't question it. "I'll take my chances."

"Good." Jughead's grandfather said and hung up. He didn't even ask about stuff with his grandson, but it didn't matter.

Jughead packed his stuff, which wasn't a lot if he was being honest, and stopped a speeding cab right on time.

It was nearly 9 PM when he arrived in front of his supposed room, holding a box of his important belongings. The door was red and it had been marked with a bold '93'. It made him nervous. Gulping loudly, he knocked on it a few times, though no one answered.

Jughead waited for another five minutes before assuming that his roommate was out. He sighed in relief at the fact that he had time to prepare his introduction. 

Unlocking the door, he was greeted with a nice, large room that was bigger than his apartment. It was neatly divided in two. His area was empty, aside from the bed that looked like someone already slept on it and the other basically screamed 'woman'. There was a make up area with a huge decorative mirror and an open closet filled with fancy dresses. Other than that, there was another door.

Bathroom, maybe, Jughead shrugged, placing his box on his bed.

"Ahem." Jughead could've sworn his heart ran away as soon as he heard that cough behind him.

His body whipped around and he saw her standing behind the closed door with her arms folded.

A girl with raven hair as dark as his was glaring at him like he had done something terribly wrong to her beloved grandmother. She was just a couple of inches shorter than him and was wearing a purple jacket with dark blue jeans.

She looked Mexican, and she was scarier than the door.

It was bad that Jughead had noticed. Her features was mixed with his messed up way to socialize. Memories of what his loud latino classmate always said whenever he had a tantrum ran in Jughead's mind and he ended up saying 'puta' instead of a 'hi'. He never had the urge to punch himself more in that moment.

"The fuck did you just say to me?!" She growled, clearly enraged as thunder boomed with every step she took closer to him. He backed away in fear.

"I - "

"Speak, gremlin!" No, he did not want to speak. He wanted to run away from her and curl around in the corner. He wanted someone to take him away from this she-beast.

Feeling like his prayers had been answered, he heard a door creak open, though it wasn't the front door. Someone exited the bathroom wearing only a black underwear and a clean, white t-shirt.

This person, he recognized.

Betty obviously hadn't heard one word from the both them as she came out with her hair wet and a towel draped around her shoulders. She was holding a bottle of shampoo and was looking at it with such interest. 

"Hey, V, where do you get your conditioners. . ." She trailed off as soon as she saw the two of them and finally felt the atmosphere. "From."

"Jughead?" Betty asked and Jughead was glad he wasn't hallucinating. "What's going on here?"

"You know this prick?" V poked his chest way too harsh that he almost fell back.

"Veronica!" Betty scolded her friend. "You need to chill a bit."

"Well, excuse me! He called me a bitch!"

"No!" Jughead argued, shaking his head repeatedly. "I mean, yes! But I didn't mean it."

Veronica faced him again with an even harder glare. "Oh, so now you speak English?! Que se joda este chico!"

"Okay, V," Betty said, grabbing the female raven by the arm and shoved her in the bathroom where her screams disappeared. "You. Need. To. Chill!"

The bathroom was soundproof, which would explain why he didn't hear the shower running. Jughead stood there, playing with his fingers. He didn't expect to find her this fast.

"Jughead, what are you doing here?" She asked.

"I. . .I thought about what you said and decided to get my room back." He answered, partly telling the while truth. "This your dorm?"

"Oh," Betty half heartedly laughed. "Well, I'm glad I changed your mind but this isn't my dorm. It's Veronica's. I'm so sorry about her. She's usually not like this."

Jughead gulped, feeling sorry for himself. Great, I have to live with the demoness for four years. "Oh, no, it was my fault," he said as he hung his head low. "I just. . . I had a classmate who was always cursing in Spanish and the word just kind of popped in my head when I saw her."

"Oh," Betty laughed once more. "Well, you should be able to still get on her good side once she calms down. So, this was supposed to be your dorm?"

Jughead moved to sit on his bed. "Yeah. Doesn't yours have a bathroom?" 

The blonde shook her head. "No," she stated and her face twisted in disgust. "The school has special dorms for the rich kids while the rest if us get to use the public bathroom. It's hell down there, so I'm glad my friend got in. God, I feel so bad about it."

Jughead chuckled. 

"You didn't tell me you were rich." Betty continued.

"I'm not," he denied too quickly. "My grandfather gave it to me."

"Grandfather?"

"Forsythe Pendleton Jones."

You could practically hear the gears turning in Betty's head. "What," she yelled and grabbed him firmly by the shoulders before shaking him back and forth. "What?! You're a Jones!"

"Who's a Jones?" Veronica's interested head poked out from the bathroom door.

Jughead, though, was more focused the girl in front of him. She was so close and she smelt like minty watermelon on a hot summer's day. Not to mention the lack of clothes. 

A hard blush spread across his face as he averted his gaze and Betty caught it, looking down to notice her attire as well.

She snickered, "Oh, come on, Jug. Never saw a woman in her underwear?".

Jughead blushed further.

"Wait. . ." Betty said, her hands sliding down his arms and he heard Veronica cover a sudden snort. "You never - ".

"Just put some clothes on, please," he interrupted before she had finished. 

"Oh my god," both girls laughed. He never felt so embarrassed in his life. 

Without another word he turned around and let Betty change as she spoke to him.

"How come?" She asked. "I mean, your hot."

As flattered as Jughead was, he was dying on the inside. This was not how he thought he would see her again."Well, I'm not the kind of guy that sleeps with someone for fun."

"So you've never had a girlfriend? Boyfriend?"

Another blow to his pride. "No. And I'm not gay. Proven fact."

"Aw," Betty cooed. It wasn't anywhere near cute. Why couldn't he just have been like Archie? "Well, tell me when you do find her. Whoever you fall in love with must be really special for you to wait this long. Done!"

His eyes turned to the side with his back still facing her. "Yeah. She is," he muttered under his breath.

And like she just appeared out of nowhere, Veronica said, "he was totally peeking".

**Author's Note:**

> Moral of the story: Wear thin gloves and make sure to give your complete name to people you think are hot.


End file.
